The New Girl….

Let me get you up to speed on ‘life among the greys’. 🙂 Many of my birds have been with me for about 1.5-2 + yrs. Most had ‘issues’ when they came in, whether physical or emotional, they have all thrived and showed great improvement. I realized, for some, it was now time to move on to the next phase of their lives. So a few have now left and are being worked with to prepare them to become part of a family. Some you know, others have never been introduced here. Magee is one that I would LOVE to see in a loving home where someone could lavish attention on him. He has moved on and is doing well. We also had a Timneh in the flock…. he is a funny, smart and interesting chap….and is also being prepared to move in with a loving family. A female Congo along with my 24 yr. old yellow nape are also now participants and being readied for a forever family. I will keep you posted on their progress as I receive updates.

In the meantime, the rest of the flock is adjusting and seems to be content with the new number. In the midst of the previous members moving on, I received information about a female Congo that was having some difficulties. Enter New Girl…. 10 yrs old, bought in Dec. 2011. Within her first month she had begun plucking her feathers. The new owner, distraught and wanting to get her new baby help, took her to the vet. Tests revealed an infection and antibiotic was prescribed. A follow-up visit to see Dr. Wright also included tests for PBFD (psittacine beak and feather disease) & PDD (Proventricular Dilatation Disease), which came back negative.

The day I met the bird she looked as she does in the photo previously posted. She was very, very dark (where she had feathers), so much so I thought she was a Timneh! Her exposed skin was very dark red…. needless to say, her exterior image was very sad indeed. Her owner was at her wits end trying to get the bird back to her perfect feather condition. However, she could no longer care for the bird and placed her in my care. My first order of ‘business’ when a new birdie comes in is to bathe them. Unfortunately, I could not give her a soaking bathe for the first couple of days, so i resorted to the spray bottle with comforting, warm water. I wrapped her in a towel after her ‘rinse’, then administered her meds along with some liquified Harrisons food, which must have tasted good based on the way she ate it! After a bit of cuddling I let her out of the towel…as she sat on my hand I noticed something on her legs. Initially, I thought it might have been some food. I was stunned when I realized it was actually dead skin.

Do you see it? Weird, huh? A couple of days later I took her in the shower with me. She is a funny girl… quite vocal, squawking when she doesn’t want to do something or is unsure, but she will do it anyway. I heard one squawk as I placed her under the running water, then for the next 4 -5 minutes, on and off, she just relished the water running over her back. It was extremely gratifying to see her enjoying the shower so much. I dried her off a bit, then placed her outside in the beautiful, warm Arizona sunshine, using the blow dryer to help her warm up quickly. She looked better, but still very dark. After about an hour she had large flakes of dead skin on her body…..

3.14.12

Notice the especially large piece of dead skin towards the bottom of the photo. I sent copies of the pics to Dr. Wright to keep him updated on what was happening with New Girl.

Another area that was especially irritated on this birdie was her eye area. As a matter of fact, the skin around her right eye was red and actually swollen when she arrived. That has also improved. I tried to take before and after shots:

Note the redness and swelling around her right eye...

I am happy to say, both the redness & swelling, are gone from her eye area.

I will keep you updated on New Girl’s progress… oh and by the way, if you have suggestions for a new name, I would greatly appreciate them!